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From: jallen@netxcom.UUCP (John Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Copy protection and the consumer
Message-ID: <647@netxcom.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jan 88 23:42:02 GMT
References: <4663@watdragon.waterloo.edu> <3823@husc6.harvard.edu> <1319@looking.UUCP> <4676@ihlpg.ATT.COM> <1331@looking.UUCP> <2186@isis.UUCP>
Reply-To: jallen@netxcom.UUCP (John Allen)
Organization: NetExpress Communications, Inc., Vienna, VA
Lines: 24

In article <2186@isis.UUCP> aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt) writes:
>I'm not saying today's prices are *unjustifyably* high, just that they
>are *too* high for individuals to pay.  This prevents computing from
>spreading into the personal market at a faster rate.

I followed the discussion up to here, and agree in concept....

>Consider: a clone PC can be had for around $400.  If I want to run Dbase III
>and Lotus 1-2-3 I'd have to shell out another $700 (by mail order).  For the
>price of two copies of MSC 5.0 I could buy another PC.  This is ludicrous.
>This is like saying a car will run you $10k, but the gas will cost $10k, the
>oil $7k, $4k for the transmission fluid...

But the analogy is 'too good' - sure, the car cost $10K, and I'll pump about
$10K of gas through it (if it lasts long enough), spend $5K on insurance,
another $3K (or more) on repairs and regular maintenance, $2K in property
taxes...

John Allen
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